Memories of Bachan…
by kirayasha aka kira
Summary: Hojo & Kagome get together to talk about Bachan. This is a tribute to the late Kristine Batey who was know in the Inuyasha fandom as Bachan. She recently passed away...


Memories of Bachan…

By kira

_For Bachan aka Kristine Batey: I never had the pleasure of actually meeting you, or even talking to you beyond a couple of emails about my fic, but you touched so many lives and I wanted to show you my appreciation. My one regret is that you were taken away from us too soon and now I won't ever have the chance to get to know you and count you amongst my friends…_

_Special thanks to Ithilwen for working her beta magic on this one too!_

Kagome stood in front of her open locker, taking out the books she needed for her morning classes and putting the rest away. She had only been home a few minutes from the feudal era when the phone rang and her friend Yumi called to tell her about Hojo's grandmother's passing. She was surprised at how much it had moved her to hear it. When she heard his soft "good morning" as he opened his locker, she stood there gaping at him for a few minutes as she struggled to come up with something to say.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother, Hojo-kun," she said softly. Kagome blushed and looked away. _Idiot, _she chided herself_. Couldn't you have said something better like, "Good morning, Hojo-kun. Yumi-chan told me we're having a math test on Tuesday and I was wondering if I can borrow your notes. Oh and I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother..." but no you had to get right to the point and all you did was upset him again…Idiot!_

Hojo stood there, watching the play of emotion across her face, and his heart went out to her. _She's been out sick with the parvo virus for three weeks now and she must be worried sick about the work she needs to catch up on. And yet, here she is extending her condolences to me about my grandmother. What an amazing girl she is…_

After a long moment of silence that stretched painfully between them, Hojo finally found his voice. "Thank you, Higurashi-san." He waited patiently while she finished gathering her books from her locker as they lapsed into silence again. "They look heavy and you must still be weak from your illness," he said, reaching out to gently take the heavy textbooks from her. "I don't mind carrying them for you since we have the same class first period and all…"

"Thank you," she murmured. "Ummm… I was wondering if you wanted to talk about her."

"Who?" he gave her a puzzled look before it hit him, and laughing, he answered his own question. "Bachan was the kindest person I had ever known," he said softly. _Until I met you, that is…_

"Really? Would you like to tell me more? What did she do that was so kind? It's funny, but my mother said the same thing and I know she doesn't know your grandmother, but how would she know that?" Kagome trailed off, lost in thought.

Hojo let the silence stretch between them again as it felt more comfortable to him this time. They made it almost all of the way to their first period class before Kagome stopped dead in her tracks.

"Come on, let's skip class this morning. I don't think I can concentrate right now as I really want to hear more about Bachan. I feel really bad that I never got to know her before; well there was never an opportunity to …" she trailed off helplessly.

"What? We can't skip class, Higurashi-san," he said as he looked at her like she was crazy. "I know science fiction literature is an elective, but don't you think you've missed enough classes already?"

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed. "It was a stupid idea. Let's go in before we're late." She reached for the door handle and he mistook her discomfiture for a sudden relapse.

"You're not feeling sick are you?" he asked and she was touched by the concern that was clearly heard in his voice.

"No, I'm fine, Hojo-kun, really I am." Kagome smiled at him.

Hojo looked at the classroom door and then Kagome. She could see he was toying with the idea of leaving and it really took her by surprise. Kagome waited to see if he would actually leave with her or talk her into going to class like they should. She had missed the past three weeks while hunting shards back in the feudal era but he didn't know that. To him, she had been absent because she was sick with a virus. When Kagome stole another look in his direction, she noticed he had made up his mind.

"Okay, Higurashi-san, I'll skip class with you, but only this once," he said hesitatingly, "And only if you can tell me why you'd rather miss another day's lesson than go."

Kagome laughed. "I don't know why I said that, as I'm probably so far behind it's not even funny." She grew suddenly serious, "I guess it was something about the way you said it. You know, 'she was the kindest person I had ever known…' I just knew I wanted to hear more about her. And somehow, even though it's something really sad, I could see you were…" she paused as she hunted for the right words. "I don't know, feeling happy to talk about her." She thought back to the time Inuyasha had finally opened up to her and told her about his mother. It had been after they had all worked so hard with Sesshomaru to defeat Inutaisho's sword, Sou'unga and without any prompting at all, Inuyasha told what he could remember about his childhood. Looking at Hojo, she saw the same gleam in his eye when he spoke about his grandmother and she decided to seize the moment for what it was worth. "Come on, let's go to Wacdonald's. You can tell me all about her over breakfast," and with that she led him back down the hall to their lockers.

Hojo felt like his head was spinning. He couldn't believe he was actually going to cut class, never mind the fact he was skipping out to go on a mini-date with Higurashi-san. He stood there in front of his locker, going through the same motions he went through everyday after school, although this time there was a touch of danger that he found exciting. Minutes later he was by her side as they stood outside the school.

Kagome, sensing his hesitation, grabbed his hand and pulled him along. For one brief shining moment, she thought he would change his mind and head back indoors, so she gave him her best smile and that was all it took to get him going. _Wow! I guess he's never been absent from school before, let alone cut. _She laughed in her head._ I wonder what he'd say if he knew how many times Inuyasha came and got me out of school early because he needed me to help get the shards, never mind all the times I was supposedly out sick when I was really in feudal Japan. _She giggled softly.

"What's so funny, Higurashi-san?"

"Nothing, I was thinking about what my friends would say if they knew I had cut classes to be with you." _Oops! That didn't sound too good; I hope he doesn't get the wrong idea, _she thought._ I'd hate to think I was leading him on._

He surprised her by laughing. "Well they always seem to be pushing us together…" he said softly as his cheeks began heating up. "I'm sorry, Higurashi-san, I-I don't know-"

"Tell me about it!" she said with a smile. "I know they seem to think we'd make the perfect couple, but I have a boyfriend, Hojo-kun. His name's Inuyasha and he works at another shrine. Sometimes he comes and helps my grandfather and that's how we met."

"I see…" Another long silence stretched between them. They walked on, lost in thought, as they made their way to the fast-food place. Before they knew it they were there and Hojo politely held the door for her as Kagome entered. Despite her polite protests to the contrary, he insisted he buy them breakfast, and after ordering two egg sandwiches and two cups of tea, she went to look for an empty booth.

"There you are!" Hojo said when he spotted her sitting in an out of the way booth. He smiled, thinking how she always sat in front of the large window. "I never expected to find you here, but it does seem wise to sit back here where no one will see us." He set the tray down between them before sitting across from her.

"Yeah. I figured this way we wouldn't be disturbed in case someone saw us at school."

"Maybe we should hurry up and go back?" he said and she could she see his uncertainty about the whole skipping school thing clearly written on his face.

"That wasn't what I meant," she said quickly, hoping to put him more at ease. "I was thinking we'd be disturbed by my friends, rather than a teacher who happened to have a free period and spotted us here."

"Oh." He took a bite of his egg sandwich.

Kagome also helped herself to her sandwich and they ate in companionable silence. Fearing the moment would slip away, she asked him again about his grandmother.

"Let's see," Hojo said before taking a sip of his tea. "Bachan was a wonderful person. My mother worked, so she looked after me instead when I was little. She was a very healthy person until I entered middle school. Then old age seemed to suddenly catch up to her and she kept getting sick all the time." He looked so sad that Kagome felt guilty about all her fake illnesses.

_No wonder he was always bringing me stuff to make feel better or cue my illnesses. I wonder if I should tell him the truth…_she thought.

"That must have hard on you," she said softly.

Hojo thought about it. "It was at first, but then it became such a part of her, that was like…I don't know," he shrugged. "Anyway, she was always thinking about others and whenever someone would send her a basket of fruit during a hospital stay, she would share it with the other patients in her room as well as the nurses and doctors who looked after her. It was just another example of her kindness. You know, before she became too sick to work; she taught creative writing at Tokyo U," he said proudly.

"Really? That's awesome! I wonder if it'll be easier for you to get in knowing she taught there."

"I never really thought about it. Actually, I want to go to medical school. I was thinking of going to Tokyo Medical and Dental University and if I couldn't get in there, then my second choice would be to go to school in Osaka. I never really thought about a career as a teacher. I wonder if I should do that instead, to honor her memory."

"I think she would be proud of you whatever you did for a living. Besides being a doctor is just as honorable as being a teacher, right?" Kagome smiled at him and he nodded in return.

Hojo then took another bite of his sandwich, and after washing it down with another sip of tea, he continued, "I suppose you're right, Higurashi-san. You know, Bachan also had a workshop for people our age who were also interested in creative writing."

"That's where my mother heard of her! Her friend, Hanamoto-san, had a daughter in high school who attended one of her workshops. My mother said her friend was very proud of the fact your grandmother was able to help her daughter with her writing. She won a poetry contest and is now going to college on a scholarship."

"Hai! I remember that! Bachan was so proud of her too! A lot of her students have gone on to do well. One of them even became a mangaka."

"Really? Which manga?" Kagome asked.

"Hmmm…I think it was 'Sakura Blossoms' or something like that. It's one of those shojo manga," he replied.

"I read that one!" She laughed. "I can see why it wouldn't interest you." She clarified for him, "Silly girls and magical animals…"

Hojo laughed. "Yeah. I'm not one for that sort of thing anyway, magical animals or not." He sipped his tea and ate the last bite of his egg sandwich. "Let's see, what was Bachan like? Besides, encouraging people to write, she also encouraged them to follow their dreams. When I told her I was thinking of going to medschool, she was very supportive. My parents wanted me to be an accountant like my father, but Bachan stood up for me and convinced them otherwise." He smiled impishly. "She even said I'd have more money to live well and take care of them in their old age, not to mention keeping a geisha on the side! I still can't believe she said that! But they listened to her and that's why I'm taking a ton of science courses." He looked at his watch and then sadly back at her. "Kagome, I've got chemistry in twenty minutes, and I really can't afford to miss it. I'm sorry, but we really should get back."

"I know, well this was different, wasn't it?" She laughed as he nodded. Gathering up their garbage, Kagome slid out of the booth. "Give me a sec to get rid of this and then we can go," she said as she stood up, tray in hand.

"I'll get that," Hojo said as he also stood up.

"Don't worry about it." Kagome walked away and disposed of the garbage in a nearby can. She placed the tray on top while he waited for her at the table. "Thank you," she said softly as she reached out and gave his hand a little squeeze. "I feel like I know your grandmother a bit better now. I think it's great that she was such a strong woman. And I'm really impressed by the way she encouraged people to follow their dreams. Especially those who shared her love of writing."

"You're welcome and thank you for letting me talk about her." He squeezed her hand in return.

They stood there for several minutes, looking at each other, and holding hands. Kagome was surprised to see a look in his eyes that was very reminiscent of Inuyasha before he blinked and it was gone.

"Ummm, Higurashi-san, as much as I'd love to stand here all day like this, we really need to get back to school."

"Oops! You're right! Let's go!" she said with a smile and still holding his hand, they started to leave.

"Wait a minute," Hojo said.

"Okay," Kagome replied as she watched him walk over to the counter and order something.

He was back minutes later and handed her a bag as they left Wacdonald's. "I figured a little orange juice would, ummm, help."

"Hunh?" Kagome was thoroughly puzzled by his strange gift.

"You know, you felt light-headed, so we left to go get something to eat before you fainted," he said softly, ashamed at himself for lying.

Kagome smiled at him. "Thanks! I guess that does explain our ummm…lateness."

Hojo shrugged. "It was nothing."

She laughed, "You're sure?"

"Yeah," he said as he blushed.

"Well then, I'd better thank you again."

"Why?" Hojo asked, thoroughly puzzled.

"Because you're my hero," she said as if that explained everything. "You know, for coming up with the perfect reason why we left so we won't get in trouble. Now let's go before we're really late!"

"Yeah!" he said as he allowed her to pull him along. _WOW! She said I'm her hero, so maybe I do have a chance with her. Maybe I should follow this dream…_

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I've just realized I've got creative writing this period and I wouldn't want Bachan to be disappointed I missed it." _For a minute there he really did look heroic. _She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. _I can't believe how much he reminds me of Inuyasha. I wonder why I never saw it before. _

"Then if we hurry, we'll make it in plenty of time." They increased their pace. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling you'll turn out to be a fantastic author," he said as they entered the schoolyard.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, despite being sick all the time, you looked really strong and determined just now." He looked away as an award silence stretched between them. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's okay, really it is," she tried to reassure him as they entered the school and the bell rang. "We'd better hurry! See you later!" Kagome cried as she melted into the crowd.

Hojo stood there momentarily lost in thought and passing student's random comment to his friend Hiro reminded of what Kagome had said to him. _My hero…I can't believe she really does think I'm heroic, but then you always thought so too, Bachan…_


End file.
